This week at Duende

This week at DUENDE     December 2, 2013
	In The Bodega   La Batalla del Vino Starting this Wednesday we are excited to introduce a new way to experience our wines in the Bodega: La Batalla del Vino!    Every day from 4pm to 5pm, open any bottle of wine or sherry from our collection and only pay retail price (50% off list price).  Come with your friends and share some of the best wines Spain has to offer, including: -2008 Monasterio de Corias "Ocho Meses" $36 list, $18 4-5pm -2008 Remelluri Rioja $82 list, $41 4-5pm -2011 Bengoetxe Txakoli $36 list, $18 4-5pm -2003 Lopez de Heredia Gravonia $60 list, $30 4-5pm In The Kitchen Hamburguesa Tartara   While in Spain prior to opening Duende, Paul & Christa found cool little restaurants newly opened by chefs who were reinterpreting classic Spanish cuisine using fresh techniques. At Catalina Restaurante in Barcelona, they were inspired by a hamburguesa tartara created chef/owner Josė Lacambra Durán and decided on the spot to create a Duende improvisation. This interpretation is a perfect example of breathing new life life into a dish from the catacombs of classic cuisine. We grind Piedmontese eye of round each day before dinner service, and mix it with piquillo peppers, cornichons, capers and a discretion of mustard. In a unique twist, the hamburguesa kisses the plancha to impart a char-grilled flavor, then it is placed on a spicy piquillo pepper salsa and topped with fried shoestring potatoes tossed in pimenton salt. The result is savory and delicious, with a fine, sashimi-like texture. The Hamburguesa Tartara has been on the menu since our opening and has achieved cul t status among the cognoscenti. On Stage Dylan Ryan's Sand   Featuring his volatile and dramatic trio Sand, Sky Bleached  is Dylan Ryan's debut album under his own name, but the insistently exploratory Los Angeles-based drummer and composer isn't making a first impression. Ryan is bandstand veteran who's spent the past decade collaborating with an array of galvanizing musicians across a wide array of creative rock, jazz and alternative scenes in Chicago and Los Angeles including Cursive, Icy Demons, Herculaneum and Tim Kasher.   His last trip east was highlighted by a much lauded Winter Jazz Festival performance.     "Dylan Ryan is a drummer adept at combining his jazz skills with adventurous rock, resulting in music that maintains the cerebral and viceral qualities of both. Sand finds him in a trio... the set is split almost evenly between the drummer's compositions-engaging guitar melodies delivered with the heft of prog rock-and group improvs that succeed whether they're gentle or vicious..." - JazzTimes    MORE INFO & TICKETS HERE Wednesday, December 4| 9pm |  $10 |    Lewis Jordan & Music at Large MORE INFO & TICKETS HERE Friday, December 6 | 9:30 pm | $10 |   Dylan Ryan's Sand MORE INFO & TICKETS HERE   Saturday, December 7 | 9:30 pm | $10     Gavin Templeton Trio MORE INFO & TICKETS HERE   Sunday, December 8 | 9 pm | $10 |   Zilber-Horvath-Shifflet-Lewis Quartet MORE INFO & TICKETS HERE Monday, December 9| 9pm | $10 | Oakland Freedom Jazz Society MORE INFO & TICKETS HERE Full Schedule here Wine Hardcore natural wines, by Mendall We've just reintroduced to our list the wines of one of the biggest proponents in natural winemaking: the catalan Laureano Serres, from Terra Alta. This all-in-one Farmer-Artisan-Artist struggles to express the raw beauty of his vines with no make-up at all: he doesn't add any foreign yeasts, he keeps the fermentation and aging process as natural as it can be and no sulfites are added. His  bottlings are always a trip to remember: like his 2011 Roig José María (Tempranillo), quite fruit-driven and refreshing, or his beautifully textured and layered 2011 Finca L'Abeurador (Garnatxa Blanca), partially fermented in amphora. Wines for the open-minded, or mind-opening wines?   2011 Mendall Roig José María, Tempranillo: $48 2011 Mendall Finca L'Abeurador, Garnatxa Blanca $56 Behind the Bar Pineapple Guava Also known as Feijoa, this local tropical fruit is one of our favorite ingredients to use this time of year. This month we are featuring a rotating selection of cocktails that feature this bright-floral, candy-like fruit. Look for these cocktails throughout the next few weeks while the fruit is in season:   -Brother Charlie:  Caipirinha is the national cocktail of Brazil, traditionally consisting of cachaça (sugar cane liquor), lime and sugar. Our version (named after a Jorge Ben song),is muddled with the pineapple guava, Novo Fogo Cachaça and sugar.   -Mexican Winter Ponche: This winter punch, also known as Calientitos, is mixed by our bar with piloncillo, tejocote (Mexican crab apples), pineapple guavas, brandy, tequila or rum, tamarind, and often nuts and cinnamon.   -Pop Skull: Our house tiki creation, named after an old-school term for rum, features El Dorado 3 year Guyana rum, Hamilton's Jamaican Gold rum, lime, grapefruit, coconut cream, lime cordial and pineapple guava syrup, all over crushed ice.   Bodega Hours-  MON/WEDS/THURS/FRI 8AM SAT/SUN 9AM   Duende  | duendeoakland.com | info@duendeoakland.com Share: